Premier League

PREMIER LEAGUE linesman Constantine Hatzidakis has broken his silence after appearing to aim an elbow at Liverpool’s Andy Robertson.Footage showed Hatzidakis raising his elbow towards the defender’s face at half-time of Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
Constantine Hatzidakis is being investigated by the FA over the incident involving Andy RobertsonCredit: PA
Robertson claims the linesman caught him in the faceCredit: Reuters
The FA are investigating the incident and the lino has been stood down from officiating any of the weekend fixtures by ref boss Howard Webb.
The investigation is still ongoing and Hatzidakis revealed he is prepared for any outcome.
He said: “Whatever happens, happens.
“There is nothing more I can say at the moment. I can’t talk about what happened.”
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Hatzidakis, 38, faces a lengthy FA ban if found guilty.
Robertson fumed after the incident and appeared to suggest he had been caught in the face by the official.
The Scot was said to be “apoplectic” as he headed down the tunnel following the incident.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, working for Sky, labelled Robertson a “big baby” for his reaction.
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Gary Neville added: “I’ve never seen an official raise an elbow to a player. He’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
He later tweeted: “The assistant referee in my opinion should get a b******ing, miss next weekends fixtures and then get on with it.
“He’ll probably apologise to Robertson as well. Agree?” More

FOR a striker, scoring a hat-trick is just about as good as it gets.The Premier League has seen its fair share of goalscoring geniuses leaving opposing defenders as well as goalkeepers red-faced after a stunning performance that sees them scoring three goals.
Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland knows everything about hat-tricksCredit: Getty
The term hat-trick originates from cricket, instead of footballCredit: AP
Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero knows all about it as he tops the Prem charts of most hat-tricks with 12 under his name.
Aguero left City in 2021 but the Manchester giants weren’t deprived of goals as Erling Haaland joined just a year later and has since taken the English top flight by storm.
Haaland has netted a total of FIVE hat-tricks this season across all competitions.
And the star striker may lead to the invention of a new word after netting a staggering FIVE goals against RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
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The Norway international counts four hat-tricks in the Premier League, which puts him on par with Harry Kane and Alan Shearer as the only players to ever score that many triples in a single campaign.
But fans are only just getting to know the origins of that term, which doesn’t come even from football.
The word actually comes from cricket, and there is a very good reason behind its inception.
The term was used when a bowler took three wickets from three consecutive balls.
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The player’s respective club would then give them a hat to celebrate the achievement.
Football is filled with colourful terms that many are actually unaware of their origins.
The same goes for “nutmegging”, which has a much more complicated history. More

ARSENAL’S crunch Premier League clash against Chelsea at the end of the month has been pushed back until May.That’s due to policing concerns over the initial weekend fixture.
Arsenal vs Chelsea has been pushed from a weekend fixture in April to a midweek battle in MayCredit: AP
Arsenal vs Chelsea at the Emirates was originally due to take place on Saturday April 29 at 5.30pm.
The thrilling game is sure to play a huge part in this season’s title race as Arsenal look to keep ahead of Man City, with the Gunners winning the first meeting at Stamford Bridge 1-0 in November.
But Chelsea’s trip to their London rivals will instead now take place on Tuesday May 2 at 8pm after the Met expressed concerns over policing.
Fans of both clubs have been left fuming, with Arsenal also expressing their disappointment at the news.
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A Gunners statement read: “The Premier League has announced that our home league match against Chelsea will now take place on Tuesday, May 2, kicking off at 8pm (UK time).
“This change has been made as a result of the Metropolitan Police revising its position on policing the match.

“After working to try to find a solution with the Met Police, we are very disappointed with the impact and disruption this fixture change will cause to our supporters, particularly after this match had been initially approved for a Saturday evening kick-off.”
A Premier League statement added: “The initial scheduling of this match was approved at a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting in February.
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“However, the Metropolitan Police has now revised its position regarding the kick-off time and requested a further SAG meeting which determined the match had to be re-scheduled.   
“We regret the need to move this fixture at late notice and the impact this will have on supporters. The game will remain live on Sky Sports.”
Supporters on social media were also left unimpressed with the decision to change the date.
One said: “That’s unbelievable. This is so fan unfriendly, this is unimaginable in other leagues.”
Another declared: “Bought tickets and was set to fly for my first game from US. Absolutely pathetic for them to change it this late.”
One noted: “This is so disappointing and disrespectful to the fans attending the match that are never taken into consideration.”
Another added: “Disappointing… £140 down the drain on flight and hotel fml.” More